Time off has a creative payoff

More money and a bigger office probably won’t make your employees more creative. It’s more likely that giving them the day off or some cash in their pockets to go learn something new will spark fresh ideas and goals.

These days most businesses – especially technology companies – rely on employee talent for new products, innovation, and a greater market share. When creative people are the key to your profits, giving them the mental leeway to go think and grow can have big payouts.

Companies with tight budgets might wonder why they should give Jack or Jane money to go learn rock climbing, drive a race car, or speak French when it doesn’t have anything to do with the job at hand.

But studies – backed up by MRI evidence — have long shown that the best ideas come when you’re not directly working on a problem. Time away can yield the proverbial AHA! Moment. Howard Schultz came up with his ideas for Starbucks while sitting in cafes in Italy, and Isaac Newton was famously inspired to develop his theories about gravity thanks to a falling apple.

Creativity relies on new perspectives: seeing new relationships and connecting the unconnected in unexpected ways. Only by widening your scope of knowledge and seeking new experiences can you activate those new linkages.

This is one area where small companies can reap the same creative benefits as the big boys:

Successful tech behemoths like Google and Apple have perks like game areas to help staffers take a break and be more creative. Small companies can do the same. Even though time is money, giving your employees time to be creative is a cheap investment with a grand payoff.